LEWISTON – Educational workshops have been scheduled for elderly or low-income rural Maine residents explaining the USDA Rural Development’s Section 504 Loan and Grant Program.

Through the program, eligible homeowners can remove health and safety hazards; repair or remodel their homes to make them accessible for people with disabilities; or make general repairs to modernize or improve their homes.

Elderly Maine residents 62 or over may qualify for grant funds up to $7,500. Very low-income families or elderly residents may qualify for low-interest loan funds up to $20,000, with a low-interest repayment of 1 percent for a maximum term of 20 years.

Educating residents is the key objective of workshops being offered in Androscoggin, Kennebec, Oxford and Franklin counties.

The following workshops are open to the public:

Paris: Friday, Feb. 24, from 9 a.m. to noon, at Community Concepts Inc., 4 Market Square, South Paris.

Farmington: Tuesday, Feb. 28, from 9 a.m. to noon, at the Municipal Building, 153 Farmington Falls Road.

Lewiston: Wednesday, March 1, from 10 a.m. to noon, at the USDA Service Center, 254 Goddard Road.

Waterville: Wednesday, March 8, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., at Waterville Senior Spectrum, 38 Gold St.

For more information, contact Janice Stroud at 753-9244. More information on rural programs is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting USDA’s Web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov.